“It was only when I lay there on rotting prison straw that I sensed within myself the first stirring of good,” says Alexander Solzhenitsyn. “Gradually, it was disclosed to me that the line separating good and evil passes not through parties, states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either, but right through all human hearts. So, bless you, prison, for having been in my life.”

With Solzhenitsyn as our inspiration, let us take a moment to find the gift of one difficult thing we have faced and give thanks for its teachings.